# List of mayors, lord mayors and administrators of Sydney

The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has been directly elected since 1995, replacing the previous system of being internally elected annually by the Councillors, and serves a four-year term. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, at which the incumbent Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, was re-elected to a sixth term. The Lord Mayor is assisted in their work by a Deputy Lord Mayor, who is elected on an annual basis by the elected councillors.

## Office history

The office of the Mayor of Sydney along with the City of Sydney was created on 20 July 1842 pursuant to the Sydney City Incorporation Act 1842 by Governor Sir George Gipps. Prior to the first municipal election, the governor nominated magistrate Charles Windeyer to serve as interim mayor. The first council, consisting of 24 aldermen elected across six wards, was declared elected on 3 November 1842 and first met in the George Street Market Building (now the site of the Queen Victoria Building) on 9 November and elected John Hosking as the first elected mayor of Sydney.
The title of Mayor (in full: The Right Worshipful the Mayor) was elevated to "Lord Mayor" on 23 November 1902 by King Edward VII, and as part of this process received the honorific The Right Honourable, a title which attaches to the title of Lord Mayor and not to the individual holding the office. In December 1915, the Parliament of New South Wales passed the Sydney Corporation (Election of Mayor) Act, 1915 which amended the 1902 act to allow for the governor to appoint the lord mayor should the council be unable to elect a candidate on or before 30 December of any year. This occurred three times, in 1916, 1920 and 1934.
The office of lord mayor, along with the City of Sydney, was governed by the Sydney Corporation Act, 1932 until the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, which placed Sydney under the terms of the Local Government Act 1919, which governed all other local governments in the state. This meant that the election of lord mayor (until 1971 in December of each year, and then in September) marked the beginning of the term, instead of the previous system, where the lord mayoral term began on 1 January and expired on 31 December. When the City of Sydney Act 1988 was passed, the City of Sydney was once again governed under a separate law, but the election of lord mayor did not change until the Local Government Legislation Amendment Act 1995, which allowed for popular direct elections from 1995.

### Vestments of office

As head of the council, the lord mayor is entitled to wear the chains and robes of office, as befitting the ancient status of lord mayor of a large city. In 1902 the Sydney Chamber of Commerce commissioned the first link of a mayoral chain. In 1903, the governor of New South Wales, Sir Harry Rawson presented the first lord mayor, Thomas Hughes, with the chain of office. It features the coat of arms of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and the Stock Exchange and a pendant depicting the coat of arms of Sydney. Successive mayors each added a medallion, on which was embossed their term of office. By 1945, this practice had ended because of the size and weight of the chain. Today, the chain is worn with the robes of office only for rare civic ceremonies, a smaller collar being worn for most civic duties.
The original civic robe for the mayor of Sydney in 1842 was purple, trimmed with ermine and worn with a court dress hat. The current robes worn by the lord mayor and deputy lord mayor are black, trimmed with ermine, and worn with bicorne hat, lace jabot and white gloves. They are worn rarely and only at major civic functions. Recently, it has become the custom not to wear the robes.

## List of mayors, lord mayors and administrators

| # | Officeholder | Party/Affiliation | Party/Affiliation | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 1 | Charles Windeyer | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 12 August 1842 | 9 November 1842 | 89 days |
| 2 | John Hosking | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 9 November 1842 | 1843 | |
| 3 | James Robert Wilshire | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 25 September 1843 | November 1844 | |
| 4 | George Allen | n/a | n/a | Mayor | November 1844 | November 1845 | |
| 5 | Henry Macdermott | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1846 | 1846 |
| 6 | Thomas Broughton | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1847 | 1847 |
| 7 | Joshua Frey Josephson | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1848 | 1848 |
| 8 | Edward Flood | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1849 | 1849 |
| 9 | George Hill | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1850 | 1850 |
| 10 | William Edward Thurlow | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1851 | 1852 |
| 11 | Daniel Egan | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1853 | 1853 |
| n/a | Gilbert Elliot | n/a | n/a | Chief Commissioner | 1854 | 1856 |
| n/a | Frederick Orme Darval | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 1854 | 1856 |
| n/a | John Rae | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 1854 | 1856 |
| 12 | George Thornton | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1857 | 1857 |
| 13 | John Williams | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1858 | 1858 |
| 14 | George Smith | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1859 | 1859 |
| 15 | James Murphy | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1860 | 1860 |
| 16 | John Sutherland | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1861 | 1861 |
| 17 | James Oatley | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1862 | 1862 |
| 18 | Thomas Spence | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1863 | 1863 |
| 19 | William Speer | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1864 | 1864 |
| 20 | John Woods | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1865 | 1865 |
| 21 | John Sutton | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1866 | 1866 |
| 22 | Charles Moore | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1867 | 1869 |
| 23 | Walter Renny | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1869 | 1870 |
| 24 | Michael Chapman | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1871 | 1872 |
| 25 | James Merriman | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1873 | 1873 |
| 26 | Stephen Styles Goold | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1874 | 1874 |
| 27 | Benjamin Palmer | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1875 | 1876 |
| – | James Merriman | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1877 | 1878 |
| 28 | Charles James Roberts | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1879 | 1879 |
| 29 | Robert Fowler | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1880 | 1880 |
| 30 | John Harris | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1881 | 1883 |
| 31 | John Hardie | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1884 | 1884 |
| 32 | Thomas Playfair | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1 January 1885 (1885-01-01) | 31 December 1885 (1885-12-31) | 364 days |
| 33 | John Young | n/a | n/a | Mayor | 1 January 1886 | 31 December 1886 | 364 days |
| 34 | Alban Joseph Riley | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1887 | 31 December 1887 | 364 days |
| 35 | John Harris | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1888 | 31 December 1889 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 36 | Sydney Burdekin | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1890 | 10 April 1891 | 1 year, 99 days |
| 37 | Sir William Patrick Manning | | Independent | Mayor | 10 April 1891 | 31 December 1894 | 3 years, 265 days |
| 38 | Samuel Edward Lees | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1895 | 31 December 1895 | 364 days |
| 39 | Isaac Ellis Ives | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1896 | 31 December 1897 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 40 | Sir Matthew Harris | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1898 | 31 December 1900 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 41 | Sir James Graham | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1901 | 31 December 1901 | 364 days |
| 42 | Thomas Hughes | | Independent | Mayor | 1 January 1902 | 23 November 1902 | 326 days |
| 42 | Thomas Hughes | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 23 November 1902 | 31 December 1903 | 1 year, 38 days |
| – | Samuel Edward Lees | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1904 | 31 December 1904 | 365 days |
| 43 | Allen Taylor | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1905 | 31 December 1906 | 2 years, 364 days |
| – | Thomas Hughes | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1907 | 31 December 1908 | 1 year, 365 days |
| – | Sir Allen Taylor | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1909 | 1 May 1912 | 3 years, 121 days |
| 44 | George Thomas Clarke | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 May 1912 | 31 December 1912 | 244 days |
| 45 | Sir Arthur Cocks | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1913 | 31 December 1913 | 364 days |
| 46 | Richard Watkins Richards | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1914 | 31 December 1915 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 47 | Richard Meagher | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 15 January 1916 | 31 December 1917 | 1 year, 350 days |
| 48 | James Joynton Smith | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1918 | 31 December 1918 | 364 days |
| 49 | John English | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1919 | 8 March 1919 | 66 days |
| – | Sir Richard Watkins Richards | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 11 March 1919 | 12 March 1920 | 1 year, 1 day |
| 50 | William Patrick Fitzgerald | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 16 March 1920 | 31 December 1920 | 290 days |
| 51 | William Lambert | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1921 | 31 December 1921 | 364 days |
| 52 | William McElhone | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1922 | 31 December 1922 | 364 days |
| 53 | David Gilpin | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1923 | 31 December 1924 | 1 year, 365 days |
| 54 | Patrick Vincent Stokes | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1925 | 31 December 1926 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 55 | John Harold Mostyn | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1927 | 3 January 1928 | 1 year, 2 days |
| n/a | Edmund Patrick Fleming | n/a | n/a | Chief Commissioner | 3 January 1928 | 3 October 1928 | 274 days |
| n/a | John Garlick | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 3 January 1928 | 30 October 1928 | 301 days |
| n/a | Henry Edgar Morton | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 3 January 1928 | 30 October 1928 | 301 days |
| n/a | John Garlick | n/a | n/a | Chief Commissioner | 30 October 1928 | 30 June 1930 | 1 year, 243 days |
| n/a | Henry Edgar Morton | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 30 October 1928 | 30 June 1930 | 1 year, 243 days |
| n/a | Gordon Bennett | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 30 October 1928 | 30 June 1930 | 1 year, 243 days |
| 56 | Ernest Marks | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 July 1930 | 31 December 1930 | 183 days |
| 57 | Joseph Jackson | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1931 | 31 December 1931 | 364 days |
| 58 | Sir Samuel Walder | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1932 | 31 December 1932 | 365 days |
| 59 | Richard Hagon | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1933 | 31 December 1933 | 364 days |
| 60 | Sir Alfred Parker | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1934 | 18 October 1935 | 1 year, 290 days |
| 61 | Arthur McElhone | | Independent | Lord Mayor | 22 October 1935 | 31 December 1935 | 70 days |
| 62 | Archibald Howie | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1936 | 31 December 1937 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 63 | Sir Norman Nock | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1938 | 31 December 1939 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 64 | Stanley Crick | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1940 | 31 December 1942 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 65 | Reg Bartley | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1943 | 31 December 1944 | 1 year, 365 days |
| 66 | William Harding | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1945 | 31 December 1945 | 364 days |
| – | Reg Bartley | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1946 | 31 December 1948 | 2 years, 348 days |
| 67 | Ernest Charles O'Dea | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 1 January 1949 | 9 December 1952 | 3 years, 361 days |
| 68 | Pat Hills | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 9 December 1952 | 30 November 1956 | 3 years, 357 days |
| 69 | Harry Jensen | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 1 December 1956 | 3 December 1965 | 9 years, 2 days |
| 70 | John Armstrong | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 4 December 1965 | 13 November 1967 | 1 year, 344 days |
| n/a | Vernon Treatt | n/a | n/a | Chief Commissioner | 14 November 1967 | 26 September 1969 | 1 year, 316 days |
| n/a | John Shaw | n/a | n/a | Deputy Chief Commissioner | 14 November 1967 | 26 September 1969 | 1 year, 316 days |
| n/a | William Pettingell | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 14 November 1967 | 26 September 1969 | 1 year, 316 days |
| 71 | Sir Laurence Emmet McDermott | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 7 October 1969 | 25 September 1972 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 72 | David Griffin | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 25 September 1972 | 24 September 1973 | 364 days |
| 73 | Sir Nicholas Shehadie | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 24 September 1973 | 26 September 1975 | 2 years, 2 days |
| 74 | Leo Port | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 26 September 1975 | 26 August 1978 | 2 years, 334 days |
| 75 | Nelson Meers | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 26 August 1978 | 19 September 1980 | 2 years, 24 days |
| 76 | Doug Sutherland | | Labor | Lord Mayor | 20 September 1980 | 26 March 1987 | 6 years, 187 days |
| n/a | Sir Eric Neal | n/a | n/a | Administrator | 26 March 1987 | 6 April 1987 | 11 days |
| n/a | Sir Eric Neal | n/a | n/a | Chief Commissioner | 7 April 1987 | 31 December 1988 | 1 year, 268 days |
| n/a | Sir Nicholas Shehadie | n/a | n/a | Deputy Chief Commissioner | 7 April 1987 | 31 December 1988 | 1 year, 268 days |
| n/a | Norman Oakes | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 7 April 1987 | 31 December 1988 | 1 year, 268 days |
| 77 | Jeremy Bingham | | Civic Reform | Lord Mayor | 3 January 1989 | 18 September 1991 | 2 years, 258 days |
| 78 | Frank Sartor | | Living Sydney Independents | Lord Mayor | 23 September 1991 | 7 April 2003 | 11 years, 201 days |
| 79 | Lucy Turnbull | | Living Sydney Independents | Lord Mayor | 7 April 2003 | 6 February 2004 | 305 days |
| n/a | Tony Pooley | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 6 February 2004 | 27 March 2004 | 50 days |
| n/a | Garry Payne | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 6 February 2004 | 27 March 2004 | 50 days |
| n/a | Lucy Turnbull | n/a | n/a | Commissioner | 6 February 2004 | 27 March 2004 | 50 days |
| 80 | Clover Moore | | Clover Moore Independent Team | Lord Mayor | 27 March 2004 | Incumbent | 20 years, 288 days |

## Deputy Lord Mayor

See Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney

## List of town clerks, general managers, and chief executive officers

The first Town Clerk of Sydney was appointed on 3 September 1842 on a provisional basis by the Governor, pending the election of aldermen. When the council was dismissed in December 1853 and replaced by a board of three commissioners, the post of town clerk was left vacant. The Local Government Act, 1993 removed the requirement that the administrative head of a council be a "Town or Shire Clerk" and specified that the head was to be known as the general manager. The Sydney City Council had previously recognised the changing nature of role in appointing their first general manager in December 1992. In May 2005, the title of general manager was changed to chief executive officer (CEO).
| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 1 | Richard O'Connor | Provisional Town Clerk | 3 September 1842 | 16 November 1842 | 74 days |
| 2 | Charles Henry Chambers | Town Clerk | 16 November 1842 | 27 July 1843 | 253 days |
| 3 | John Rae | Town Clerk | 27 July 1843 | December 1853 | |
| 4 | Charles Henry Woolcott | Town Clerk | 1857 | 1887 | |
| 5 | Henry J. Daniels | Town Clerk | 1887 | 31 January 1898 | |
| 6 | John R. Palmer | Town Clerk | 19 July 1898 | 4 October 1899 | 1 year, 77 days |
| 7 | Robert Anderson | Town Clerk | 24 October 1899 | 25 January 1901 | 1 year, 93 days |
| – | John R. Palmer | Acting Town Clerk | 19 February 1901 | 31 December 1901 | 315 days |
| 8 | Thomas Huggins Nesbitt | Town Clerk | 1 January 1902 | 30 June 1924 | 22 years, 181 days |
| 9 | William Glazebrook Layton | Town Clerk | 1 July 1924 | 31 May 1931 | |
| 10 | Roy Hendy | Town Clerk | 1 June 1931 | 28 February 1956 | 24 years, 272 days |
| 11 | Edward William Adams | Town Clerk | 1 March 1956 | July 1962 | |
| 12 | Jack Hercules Luscombe | Town Clerk | July 1962 | 30 March 1974 | |
| 13 | Leon Parmeter Carter | Town Clerk | 1 April 1974 | August 1992 | |
| 14 | Graham Joss | Acting Town Clerk | 17 August 1992 | 4 December 1992 | 109 days |
| 15 | Katie Lahey | General Manager | 14 December 1992 | 25 August 1995 | 2 years, 254 days |
| 16 | Greg Maddock | General Manager | 1 February 1996 | January 2001 | |
| 17 | Murray Douglas | General Manager | February 2001 | June 2001 | |
| 18 | John Kass | Acting General Manager | July 2001 | October 2001 | |
| 19 | Robert Domm | General Manager | November 2001 | September 2004 | |
| 20 | Petar Vladeta | Acting General Manager | October 2004 | March 2005 | |
| 21 | Peter Seamer | General Manager | March 2005 | May 2005 | |
| 21 | Peter Seamer | Chief Executive Officer | May 2005 | April 2006 | 11 months |
| 22 | Monica Barone | Chief Executive Officer | 7 August 2006 | incumbent | 18 years, 155 days |

## Election results

In 1995, the Local Government Legislation Amendment Act 1995 amended the City of Sydney Act 1988, to allow for popular direct elections of the Lord Mayor from September 1995.

### 2024

2024 New South Wales mayoral elections: Sydney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Team Clover | Clover Moore | 33,018 | 36.78 | –6.12 |
| | Labor | Zann Maxwell | 15,392 | 17.15 | +2.45 |
| | Greens | Sylvie Ellsmore | 11,617 | 12.94 | +4.64 |
| | Liberal | Lyndon Gannon | 10,857 | 12.09 | −3.01 |
| | Weldon Independents | Yvonne Weldon | 9,038 | 10.07 | −2.03 |
| | Libertarian | Sean Masters | 3,234 | 3.60 | +3.60 |
| | We Love Sydney | Sam Danieli | 3,209 | 3.57 | +3.57 |
| | Independent | Susan Ritchie | 1,798 | 2.00 | +2.00 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Rachel Evans | 918 | 1.02 | +1.02 |
| | Independent | Baiyu Chen | 686 | 0.76 | +0.76 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 89,767 | 97.71 | −0.89 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,111 | 2.29 | +0.89 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 91,878 | | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Team Clover | Clover Moore | 41,522 | 62.90 | –5.00 |
| | Labor | Zann Maxwell | 24,489 | 37.10 | +5.00 |
| | Team Clover hold | Team Clover hold | Swing | –5.00 | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales mayoral elections: Sydney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Team Clover | Clover Moore | 50,896 | 42.9 | −14.9 |
| | Liberal | Shauna Jarrett | 17,891 | 15.1 | −3.9 |
| | Labor | Linda Scott | 17,367 | 14.7 | +4.2 |
| | Unite for Sydney | Yvonne Weldon | 14,368 | 12.1 | +12.1 |
| | Greens | Sylvie Ellsmore | 9,812 | 8.3 | +3.2 |
| | Small Business | Angela Vithoulkas | 8,177 | 8.9 | −0.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 118,511 | 98.6 | +0.2 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,675 | 1.4 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 120,186 | 68.7 | +8.9 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Team Clover | Clover Moore | 60,926 | 67.9 | |
| | Labor | Linda Scott | 28,786 | 32.1 | |
| | Team Clover hold | Team Clover hold | Swing | | |

### 2012

2012 New South Wales mayoral elections: Sydney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Team Clover | Clover Moore | 34,903 | 51.1 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal | Edward Mandla | 11,031 | 16.1 | +2.1 |
| | Labor | Linda Scott | 7,124 | 10.4 | −4.6 |
| | Living Sydney Team | Angela Vithoulkas | 6,722 | 9.8 | +9.8 |
| | Greens | Irene Doutney | 4,462 | 6.5 | −6.9 |
| | Sex Party | Zahra Stardust | 2,241 | 3.3 | +3.3 |
| | Independent | Dixie Coulton | 1,303 | 1.9 | +1.9 |
| | Housing Action Team | Denis Doherty | 557 | 0.8 | +0.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 68,343 | 97.4 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | | 2.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 69.2 | |
| | Team Clover hold | Team Clover hold | Swing | −5.4 | |